Pai or Vientiane?

Neither is a place for the sea, and both are a long way from any coast. What water there is differs in kind. In Pai you can float down the Pai River on an inner tube in the hot season or splash under Mo Paeng falls. In Vientiane nobody swims in the Mekong, so cooling off means a hotel pool or a trip to the river and lagoons at Vang Vieng.

Vientiane is the better place to eat, because the cooking is local and serious. There is sticky rice with larb, pounded papaya salad, grilled river fish and baguettes left over from the French years, all eaten at riverside grills with a Beerlao.

Pai's walking street is cheap and enjoyable, with khao soi, skewers and Yunnanese noodles from Santichon. But much of the café food, such as smoothie bowls and pizza, is made for long-staying travellers rather than for locals.

Vientiane gives a sightseer far more. Pha That Luang, Wat Si Saket's cloisters lined with small Buddhas, the former royal temple of Haw Phra Kaew and the COPE centre on unexploded ordnance fill a day or two, and Buddha Park makes an odd and memorable outing.

Pai's sights take about half a day: the white Buddha of Wat Phra That Mae Yen above town, a few Shan-style temples, the old iron bridge and the mud-brick village of Santichon. People go there for the valley, not the monuments.

For such a small town, Pai has the livelier evenings. After the night market, the reggae bars and fairy-lit gardens around the walking street fill with young backpackers, and there is the odd party out of town, though it all winds down around midnight.

Vientiane is calmer, built around Beerlao at riverside tables at sunset and a handful of expat bars. It does have a few clubs where young Lao dance to local and Thai pop, which Pai lacks, but the city is mostly asleep by midnight.

Pai is the stronger choice outdoors, because the landscape starts at the edge of town. There are rice fields and forested hills, the eroded ridges of Pai Canyon, Pam Bok waterfall, morning mist seen from the Yun Lai viewpoint, and the great cave of Tham Lod an hour to the west.

Vientiane sits on a flat plain, and its best green space is the Mekong promenade. The dramatic scenery is the limestone karst around Vang Vieng, an hour north by train, with forest trails in Phou Khao Khouay closer in.

Vientiane is much the better base for days out. The high-speed train reaches Vang Vieng in about an hour and Luang Prabang in about two. Across the Friendship Bridge are Nong Khai's riverfront and the giant sculptures of Sala Keoku.

Pai is remote. Soppong and the Lahu and Lisu villages around it are an hour along the mountain road. Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son, though, are about three hours of hairpin bends away, which makes them a change of base rather than a day out.

Neither place is built around children, and in both the warmth of local people towards young visitors does a lot of the work. Pai offers waterfalls, hot springs, farm visits and gentle tubing that suit older children who like the outdoors, but the road in makes many people sick and sightseeing depends on a scooter or a driver. Vientiane is calmer and flatter, with Buddha Park's giant statues and a small water park, though the heat and broken pavements make a hotel pool essential.

Vientiane is easier without your own wheels. The temples, riverfront and markets are within a few blocks of each other, traffic is light for a capital, tuk-tuks and ride-hailing cars reach the outlying sights, and the flat streets are good for cycling.

In Pai, the centre takes minutes to walk, but the canyon, waterfalls and hot springs are spread across the valley with no public transport. That leaves a rented scooter on hill roads, which beginners often crash, a hired songthaew truck or an organised tour.

Vientiane is the better place to shop, mainly for textiles. You can buy handwoven Lao silk and cotton in patterns that differ between ethnic groups, sinh skirts from small weaving galleries, and fabrics and gold at Talat Sao. Pai's evening stalls sell cotton trousers, woven bags and handmade jewellery that are fun to browse but repeat from one stall to the next, and neither town has much in the way of fashion.

Both are very cheap, and a modest budget lasts a long time in either. In Pai the savings come from simple bungalows, night-market dinners and scooter hire, though the tourist centre costs more than an ordinary northern Thai town. In Vientiane even a comfortable mid-range hotel is within easy reach, and the costs to watch are imported wine, Western-style restaurants and tuk-tuk fares, which need agreeing before you set off.

Neither town is worth planning evenings around for performance, but Pai has the more regular live music. Most nights several bars hold acoustic, blues, reggae or jazz jams with an open-stage feel, though the standard varies. Vientiane has something Pai lacks, with staged shows of traditional Lao dance and khaen music and dancing at temple festivals, but its bar bands mostly play covers.

Pai is the more restful choice, mainly because of its hot springs. These include the Tha Pai springs in a forest park south of town and simpler pools in the hills, along with yoga, meditation and retreats lasting anything from a day to several weeks.

Vientiane has the Lao herbal sauna instead: steam rooms scented with lemongrass next to temples such as Wat Sok Pa Luang, followed by herbal tea and a massage, in one of the quietest capitals in Asia. What it cannot offer is Pai's countryside setting.